On The Value Of Pets
by MeowthTwo
Summary: After a battle where Mikaela goes missing Sam tells Bumblebee to leave.
1. Chapter 1

On the Value of Pets

Chapter 1: The Worst Thing That Could Happen

Disclaimer: Hasbro owns Transformers, I don't, or make any money from them.

Pairings: SamxBee, Mikaela and Optimus, Mikaela and Starscream, Soundwave and Barricade.

Acknowledgements: To LittleMewLugia for Beta-ing, for the idea of Barricade as a Musician and Composer, for saving this from being a one-shot: own characters of Rian, Sunblazer and Fiona used by permission. To P.A.W 07 for inspiration of Sam being comforted by Bee's hologram after a Nightmare.

Characters: This chapter: Sam, Bumblebee, Mikaela, Will and Sarah Lennox, Optimus, Ratchet, Ironhide, Miles, Hound, Mojo, Mason, The Twins.

Rating: T

Summary: After a battle where Mikaela goes missing Sam tells Bumblebee to leave.

"She's gone! This would never have happened if I hadn't met you!

Go! Get away from me! I'll find myself another car!" Sam had said. And a clod of Earth from Ron's much-punished lawn had come flying onto his yellow paintwork as he'd high-tailed it out of there to the Autobot base.

Ironhide was on the gate again. He felt it his duty to guard the base from Decepticon attack whenever he could, and the Decepticons had been attacking a lot lately. They seemed to find it "funny" to cause freeway pile-ups involving the Autobots then retreat in hit and run attacks, so he was looking more battle-scarred than ever.

"Ironhide - let me in - I have to see Optimus - and Ratchet!"

It was Bumblebee.

"Come in. Go ahead." said Ironhide.

The yellow scout had been shaking and had looked beat up as a car, and it continued when he transformed. Shaking all over, and cycling air through his vents fast, his round blue optics widening and contracting with a mixture of emotions. He had dirt and scratches on him as well.

Their leader could probably help, but as he'd mentioned him Ironhide commed his friend in the Med-bay.

:Ratchet, Bumblebee's coming in to see Optimus, he seems pretty choked up, I thought I'd let you know.:

:Thanks, Ironhide, I'm just finishing up on Cliffjumper here, I'll see him next. : : said Ratchet, grumbling "Why they don't come to me first I'll never know." under his breath. He sighed through his vents.

Bumblebee sent his designation at Optimus's office door.

"Come in!" called Optimus.

The door slid back. Optimus stood there with an arm out. Bumblebee ran in and hugged him.

"Optimus Prime! Sam doesn't want me any more!"

Optimus hugged him.

"Oh no. I'm sorry."

He took in the battle damage, that was still healing.

"You're hurt."

"So' re you. But we fought them off!"

The other arm, the cannon one, was in a sling. Will Lennox, who'd

come in with Ironhide, was sitting at the desk(not Optimus's side) in a tall but human-sized chair with a drink.

"Me n' Ratchet rigged that up for him. The cannon's a bit heavy if the arm's healing. Ironhide would need two." He chuckled lightly at the idea of Ironhide with 2 great crutch-arm support sticks for his cannons, then swallowed hard, audibly, because he would not have liked to see his Autobot friend so injured.

"You called me in sir?" said Bumblebee standing at ease.

"Yes. I needed to know how you were and I need you to help decipher coded messages, but if you're needed at home -"

"It's just - Mikaela?"

"Ah yes. She cared about all of us. When I last scanned for her, she was alive. Just she couldn't get back to us. She came over to my side of the freeway to see if there was anything she could do, and I blared my horn at her to keep back, and she stepped back and fell over the crash barrier down the bank and into the river. At least she got away from the Decepticons that way. Another young human female was killed."

"Yes," said Bumblebee, "He thinks - well we all know she's missing."

"He thinks that's her. Maybe I should have gone after her."

"No." said Will, "You were right to stay with the troops. We were in battle - though it would look to any one else like just another road accident."

"And I had to get Sam out of there, and home," said Bumblebee.

"Well I guess when I know how we stand I can go. Or we can have a search together tomorrow, but the police are looking for her tonight. But you know you have to go back."

Bumblebee's optics widened.

"When he doesn't _want_ me?"

"When you first came, did he want you then?"

"No, but - he didn't know me then."

"It does not matter." said Optimus Prime, looking the yellow scout square in the optics although Bumblebee was trying to look down.

"He was the only one who held the key to the location of the All Spark. You had to protect him and try to make contact."

"Yes but - I have to go back and protect him in secret?"

"Yes."

"If he doesn't _want_ me to?"

Optimus nodded. "Yes. And no. It's up to both of you, as a freedom issue, but he is young."

Will, sipping his beer, turned and put a word in here.

"So Bumblebee - you have to protect someone who does not want to be protected. Many soldiers have that."

"Yes, but their governments send them out."

"Yes, you don't have that. But I think you have something else."

Bumblebee looked at Optimus.

"Sit down," said the Leader, waving at a chair.

Bumblebee sat, gingerly, in a chair on a level with the desk for him. Optimus sat opposite him in respect.

"And however pissed Sam Witwiky may be," continued Will, "I don't think he'll be throwing stones at you. Or firing a machine gun."

"You're _right_," said Bumblebee, thumping his hand on the desk and denting it. "I have to go back. I guess he won't be able to get another car if he can't trade me in." This last bit he said in a very sad voice.

"You don't know - has he said that?" said Optimus.

"You had a row." said Will, spreading his hands and shrugging. "Ironhide and I are always having rows". He gave a wry chuckle at the shocked look in Bumblebee's wide blue optics. "Yes, really, sometimes it involves Sarah, and we've had to work through all of them. My country could send me away any time, and he could not be here when I got back. Although he's much bigger and stronger than me, I guess he could go like any one else!" He growled and thumped the table as Bumblebee had, but shook it and swore because its metal surface just hurt his flesh-and-blood fist.

He looked down so they could not see the mixture of emotions in his face.

Optimus realized he did not need sympathy right now.

"You will get him to go to Ratchet after this, won't you?" He said in concern.

"Yes, he comes off duty soon, and if I can't make him, Sarah can." Will smiled, taking his cell phone from his pocket with his other hand.

Optimus rose to indicate that the interview was at an end and helped Will down from the chair, turning to the yellow scout as he'd had to come round to that side of the desk anyway.

"Bumblebee, we may have lost the All Spark, but the Decepticon threat is still great."

"And they're bigger than him" added Will, in a loud voice, from the floor, putting his cell phone to his ear.

"Yes. I will go back. There's the family to think of, and with Mikaela gone, I should be there for him. Only…" He stood up slowly, optics pressed tight shut.

The door swished open, and Ratchet came in - Will stepped nimbly aside, involved in his call.

"Ah, Bumblebee, I'm glad you came in. If you weren't here, I'd have come out to you."

He took a step closer.

"Now where's the pain?"

"All down my back from my left shoulder to there" - Bumblebee pointed to his central neural node below his door-wings. "Down the left leg and some of the right, I can hardly feel my toes, but my feet can still walk. Sometimes it goes down my right arm and up to my head. Sam was going to take me to the garage."

Ratchet made a huffing noise of disgust through his vents.

"Fragging garages! As a car, you look O. K. apart from the odd scratch or dent. They don't see the robot parts. You were right to come in." He put a hand out to gently hold Bumblebee's shoulder.

"But I should go to Sam… shouldn't I?"

"Not yet. Not like this. Come with me, I'll realign you."

"Oh pulleeeese!" Bumblebee leant against him.

"Optimus, I have to take him now, this is serious!"

"Go on, we'll finish up here, this'll keep."

Optimus looked at the paperwork on his desk, then at Will. The army paid them for work, regarding defending themselves and the humans as part of defending the country, but they wanted hardcopy reports. The general situation was getting serious too. Will hadn't just come in with Ironhide for the ride. He smiled and gave them the thumbs up from the floor.

Ratchet picked Bumblebee up and took him straight to the Med-bay.

There he off-lined him and re-aligned his back, then re-on-lined him.

"Shouldn't I at least let them know I'm here?" asked Bumblebee.

"Optimus tried, pretending to be a local garage, but it wasn't what they wanted to hear, so he got cut off. Basically they're just waiting for the police to call if they've found her, and we must leave it up to them. Cliffjumper and Bluestreak are on patrol and looking, and a watch will be kept on the house for safety anyway. Now, you must recharge."

Bumblebee had to be satisfied enough with that and let himself be put in for recharge.

When he woke up, Hound was also there, waiting to go on duty, and doing the "breakfast run."

"I'm on base maintenance at the moment," he said. "Here, have some energon." He handed over a cube to Bumblebee.

"There, Ratchet, there's yours too. I 've go to take Optimus his yet, then I'll be back to see you for further orders."

"You're O.K. Take as long as you like."

"It won't take long. But I hear there's a plan afoot." He smiled, flashing his optics.

"O. K. now?" said Ratchet, pointing Bumblebee to a computer screen where lines of code were being analysed. "Optimus would probably show you this later, but that's the code we're trying to crack at the moment."

"I'll take a look at it," Bumblebee sipped his energon and looked at the screen.

While they were receiving messages, Ratchet got one to his personal com.

:"Earth calling Autobot alien base, is there anyone alive there?": For Bumblebee's sake Ratchet replied aloud, he knew this one, he put it on speaker.

"You have reached the Med-bay of the Autobot base. Hello _Miles._ Yes, we're alive, this is Ratchet, nice of you to care. What is it?"

"I know I was only given this number for emergencies, but it sort of _is _now. We were taking Mason and Mojo out to the Look-out for a walk -"

"Is your pet O. K?." asked Ratchet.

"Who, Mason, yes he is, a police officer caught him and Mojo will probably just have his leg in plaster again but -"

"Where's Sam?" Bumblebee grabbed Ratchet, his optics going wide.

"In hospital, with me, but he can't come right now."

"How is he?"

"He's alive. Just hurt."

"Oh no, this is my fault."

"Is that Bumblebee? No, it's mine, my old junker car's taken a ding and I didn't see someone coming in time."

Ratchet took charge. "Miles, in an R.T.A. the driver's usually hurt worse than the passenger, what happened?"

"That red car came out of a junction to the right so fast and hit us-"

"I knew it ! Swindle!" said Bumblebee, making a fist.

"You think so? I feel awful, but look, this is my last nickel, I know you and Sam have had a bust-up but can you or someone come and see us and take me home? Only Mason can be a bit of a handful without me, I have to collect the dogs from the pound, and without Mikaela, Sam…"

"Miles, _of course_ I'll come. What hospital?"

Miles gave the hospital name and ward number but the call was cut off.

Bumblebee thought about it till Hound came back and picked up the empty cubes.

"Hound, what was the number of that botanical specimen retail outlet you found for Rian's flowers? I've got to make a hospital visit. Is that O. K., Ratchet?"

"I suppose so," growled Ratchet, "You're O.K. now, we can deal with the code. I'll check it with Optimus - Yes, you shoot off, but if you want to track down Mikaela, check in with us again."

"I just want to see Sam."

"If you get a chance, bring him back here will you? I'd like to see him, we all would."

"Sure thing!" Bumblebee slid down from the recharge berth.

"Just don't lose touch."

"I'll do my best."

"I know you will. Don' t worry, we'll find her, and he'll be all right. Miles wouldn't want to come home otherwise. See you later!"

Bumblebee turned and looked up at him, hope burning fiercely in his newly widened optics. "You mean that?"

"Yes." Ratchet nodded encouragingly. He liked hopeful patients: they were more likely to return alive than hopeless patients/soldiers who were just serving out of a "sense of duty". On the whole. Bumblebee probably still cared for Sam, no matter how much Sam cared for him, more than he did for himself. Which might mean he still might end up dead. He added in his usual gruff voice: "Be seeing you!"

"I'll see you later!" Bumblebee ground out in the grittiest voice he could do through his vocal processor.

"I bet you will!" If there was one thing Ratchet could rely on in his life, it was 'bots coming in for repair. Like those coming in now.

"Ah, here come two of my regular customers!"

As Bumblebee went out, the Twins came in.

"What's goin' down Ratch? Starscream-" said Sideswipe.

"No, of course it wasn't Starscream if you've just tackled him here"

"Never said it was!" The red Lamborghini Reventon had heard the raised voices and noticed Bumblebee's determined stride and burning optics. "I was just givin' you my report! Just he was dazed, confused and pissed as all Pit! And we gave him a little something to remember us by!"

"It was Swindle if you _must know!"_

"So that's who's got the little guy all fired up!"

He turned to his brother "Figures!"

"Yeah, one of the usual suspects!" agreed the yellow Lamborghini Murcielago grimly. "Wonder how bad he's damaged Sam?"

"Harumph!" Ratchet huffed through his vents and ran a practised optic over _their_ damages, doing a deep internal scanfor serious injuries at the same time. Dents, scrapes, gashes, some leaking energon, scratches and patches of bare steel, nothing more.

"Worse than you, I'll be bound! But you two look as slagged up as fraggin Pit! Hop up here!"

He tapped the operating table and they sat on it leaning against each other, laughing. "You can check these cans of paint I got in match your sorry hides!" He passed them two cans of paint.

Sides just checked the dab on the tin and grunted comparing it to his paintjob before passing the tins to Sunny who was the expert on paint, and held it up to his brother's skin.

He checked the contents inside as well as out, opening the tins with a stick.

"Heh, that'll do for him, but that's not my yellow!"

Ratchet sighed testily through his vents and passed him another pot. "Try this one then!" He murmured almost under his breath: "Fraggin' nuisance!"

He compared it as the other one. "That's O.K!" They chuckled together. Ratchet said: "You first, Sideswipe!" and fired up his micro laser.

Hound went out with Bumblebee to give him the gate code number, which they changed regularly, and report on the perimeter scan figures from the gate.

Meanwhile, Mikaela was in a river.

She'd fallen in it, which was why she couldn't get back in contact with them. She was swimming diagonally against the current to try and get back to the shore before hitting a waterfall, or rocks.

She remembered how she'd been the first to get out after the accident, saying to Sam "I might be able to help!" He had said "So could I!" and she'd called "Stay with Bumblebee!" as she ran for Optimus, Ironhide and Ratchet. Bumblebee had called Sam's name -Had he called both their names? Now she thought of it, yes he had, and though being behind the biggest robots had been the safest part of the battle she'd hated being separated from them. She'd have gone back had she not slipped over the edge and rolled into this damn river. If she got out she'd be nearer the Hoover Dam than Tranquility.

At least it was paying off, she could feel gravel beneath her feet. She grabbed some reeds close to the shore and pulled herself into a little shingle beach. Perhaps she could get on the road again. But she was quite a way down and didn't know where she was. She'd be hitching in damp clothes, not a good pickup.

Something big was coming her way. She heard the transforming sequence, felt the earth move with impact tremors. A pair of lights was coming too, well high off the ground. Pulling herself up on the beach, feeling twice as heavy as usual and weak as a kitten, she looked at a pair of robot feet.

Unfamiliar robot feet. She'd made a study recently and these weren't any she recognised. She looked higher.

They were topped by a pair of red eyes and an evil grin.


	2. Chapter 2

On the Value of Pets.

Chapter Two

'_Well,_' she thought, '_at least it isn't Barricade_.'

She addressed the mech defiantly:

"Who're you?".

"My designation is Dropkick, fleshling. You're lucky I'm not hungry."

He opened his mouth showing a set of wicked steel teeth with fangs.

"What're you gonna do with me if you're not gonna eat me?"

Mikaela knew she was too tired to escape but she was too fed up to care. Talking was Sam's forte not hers. Mind you, all they'd had going for them was talking, running, and a love of cars and music-one car/robot especially who had become a friend. But it had been enough. It had led to a partnership affiliated with the Autobots.

He picked her up.

"I'm gonna take you back to the Decepticon base." He scanned her, she could tell from the electronic sound. " You're one of the ones Starscream fought in Mission City. Aren't you afraid?"

"A base is a base. As long as it's warm and dry."

"It's dry. It could get hot - for you."

"Can't you take me in car form?"

"It's dark. I can easily travel like this." He turned away from the river. "No-one seems to be around."

"You'll be seen as a threat. What if I start screaming?"

"I could start squeezing you. I could kill you."

"Then I'll bleed all over you."

"Oh all right. You're soggy already. My seats will get wet, but I'll get kudos from the others."

He put her down again on the road, transformed into a gray and blue pickup and opened a door. "I'm faster this way. Fasten your seatbelt!"

One of her earrings seemed to have come loose in the river. She tried to adjust it and tipped the water from her ear out the window, no use disgusting him further.

"Hey, close the window. And don't scream or I will squeeze you in your seat!"

_'Damn earring, there it goes, only one left,_' she thought, as it fell out. "I might need to get out before you get to base."

"I hope not. I'm going as fast as I can. My seats are already wet."'

_'And you don't smell too good._' She thought, but she did not say it.

She was used to musty old car insides, her Dad couldn't afford to have their own vehicle valeted. Mind you Bumblebee had been, and it made all the difference. So did his personality.

She sneezed. He just went faster. "Mind my dash!"

Yes, you _definitely_ noticed it when they didn't care.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Bumblebee arrived at the hospital and measured his holoform against it - yes, he had enough power to project it to the top floor if necessary. His holoform got out with a big bunch of flowers. He'd used some spare fuel money and parking change from the gear box dip for them and paid the car park charges. If this didn't go well he'd have to start doing things for the army to earn his energon money.

Oh well if it didn't, he'd have to, he wasn't giving up on Sam! He went in and up to the front desk.

"For Sam Witwicky? Which ward?"

"10-4." He went up in the lift. Then the nurse at the station took the flowers off him and he had nothing left to hide behind.

He asked again: "For Sam Witwicky- which bed?" He'd come along with the curt nurse round there was a more gentle one though who replied "We've had to keep him in overnight."

"Family?

"Friend."

"He needs friends." She said with a smile.

"One at a time, fifteen minutes." said the hard one, making notes.

He looked a bit like Optimus in his battle mask all wrapped up in bandages to the eyes. He scanned him: one broken arm in a sling, one broken leg, same side, in plaster, a broken rib, a broken cheek-bone and a broken jaw.

Would he be angry still?

But Sam's eyes did not look angry, just puzzled.

Then they lit up, which was all Bumblebee needed. This was going to be O. K.

He put the other hand out of the bedclothes. Bumblebee took it.

He'd have to use the oldest sign language there was-writing on the hand. He wrote the word "hi" and waited. Or if he heard his voice perhaps Sam could respond?

"Sam, sorry, no news of Mikaela yet."

Sam blinked.

"I'll look. We're forming a Search Party. I'm good at tracking. We'll find her."

Sam went on looking at him.

"I 'm really sorry."

He blinked, and then wrote "Autobots?" into Bumblebee's hand, and lifted his eyebrows questioningly. Sam had caught on.

"We're all O.K. So-so." Bumblebee hovered the fingers of one hand up and down. "Optimus looks like you. He pointed to the sling.

"Yowch." Sam wrote in Bee's hand.

Then he pointed at Bee and raised his brows again.

"Me?" So he'd noticed, it wasn't just the row, it was the crash. He put his hand on his chest. "I'm O.K. Ratchet fixed me up last night and I've recharged. I'm sure glad to see you though."

Sam spread out his hand in acceptance and Bumblebee took it nodding and quoting the Witwicky family motto "No sacrifice, no victory."

Sam's eyes looked troubled again- Mission City had been a rather heavy battle. But it had cemented their friendships. This brought the Mikaela question back to Bumblebee's mind as he thought it would be in Sam's. "Sorry I didn't pick her up. She'll come back, Optimus says she survived the battle, she's a strong girl Mikaela."

"She's still an evil Jock concubine!" Miles came in through the curtain round the bed, dragging a visitor's chair.

"Miles!" He had a head bandage., nose plaster and a bandaged right hand.

"Persuaded the old battleaxe that you could take two" said Miles. The triumphant sense of fun in his eyes reminded Bumblebee so much of the Twins with Ratchet that he had to laugh.

Sam laughed too but without being able to move his mouth, his chest shaking, and he laughed so much they had to help him up onto his pillows to breathe.

"No, but you should have seen how she went through the football team - vuh-t!" He mimed one finger going from one side of one hand to the other. Sam's eyes got angry and he started getting agitated, making little growling noises. Bumblebee and Miles put out both their hands to try to calm him down.

"No really, you guys have lasted much longer together. Maybe they were all too shallow." He locked his shoulders together, stuck his hands out and nearly crossed his eyes in imitation of someone with big arms like Trent. "Me big muscle man. Come, little lotus flower, hop on my back and we'll make sweet music together --Hunh?"

Bumblebee laughed again in spite of his anger at Miles.

"You look like Ironhide on a bad day. No, correction, he never looked that vacant." Miles laughed too.

Sam stuck out his middle finger as the "I" in Ironhide to show he understood, like many English teachers his teacher had taught him the vowels on his fingers. Of course, it looked like he was flipping the bird.

Miles again held out his hands in defence before him. "O. K., calm down man, I'm not your enemy. Really."

Bumblebee found it hard to maintain the holoform through mixed emotions and it fritzed.

"Hey are you O. K., Bumblebee?" said Miles and put an arm round the shoulders of the seemingly younger teen. "I nearly went through you then. He steered him onto the chair. Surprisingly, it helped.

"Those footballers ought to try projecting power up a 10 storey building. I'm ok-ish. I wish I was like you." he said.

"Wha- you wanna be human? No way, you'd soon get fed up with it." said Miles. "You stay as you are, keep on fighting da foes with da forces and stuff. Just hang on till we get down in the lift so they don't think I 'm stealing you, and everything'll be fine.

You're my ticket outta here. Gotta make sure the dogs're all right. Hey Sam, they went for that red one, Bee says it was Swindle, and he went off at top speed, I bet he thought they were gonna pee on him, and with Mason, that's a lot of pee."

Sam switched his hand with the middle finger raised round and ran it over the bed flickering the top of the middle digit like a panicking duck.

"Sam , you're uncanny, you've never seen him, that's exactly how Swindle looks when he runs transformed!"

Sam pointed at Bumblebee. "You worked it out from how I described him? Well that's a win! Sorry I was not there for you."

Sam put out the hand to him and Bumblebee put his into it.

"At least you're here now." said Miles. The other two looked at each other. Forgiveness and yes, love passed between them.

"Sam, you have such expressive eyes."

Sam pointed at him "Mine too? But they're just round, not advanced like Optimus' ." He had obviously forgotten he was in holoform.

The brown-eyed boy he addressed looked pleadingly at him.

"He means don't do yourself down, you look fine!" said Miles slapping him on the back. Bumblebee gave him a surprised grateful look. So contact was used for encouragement in humans as well.

Sam wrote in Bee's hand. "Don't go!"

"Sam, I don't think they'll let us stay!"

"Let me finish this quickly as we haven't much time together." said Miles looking at his watch. "I had 4 nickels. I rang my parents, your parents, the police and them -the Autobots." he added in a whisper counting the calls off on a hand, pointing at Bumblebee last."

"My parents were at work, but I managed to get your Mom, they're coming in next, they might take you home. The police said the dogs were all right, apart from Mojo's paw which is in plaster again, I have to collect them and pay the vetinary bill. Don't worry Bro I got some cash saved up I'll get that for you," as Sam rolled his eyes and moaned, "And Bumblebee came out for us!"

"Now Sam I'm not gonna diss your girlfriend or your car any more, life's too short, Peace!" He held out his hands in the two fingered peace salute, then fingers crossed for forgiveness and then the v for victory salute. "Let's do all for one and one for all now there's three of us." He laid a hand on Sam's and put Bumblebee's on top of it. Bumblebee was puzzled until he remembered old re-runs of the Tom and Jerry cartoon "The three Mouseketeers" where they did this. "All for One-and One for all!" they said and Sam nodded.

The nurses came and shooed them out. "Are you disturbing the patient?" said the hard one, "There's a lot of sick people here.!"

"It's good to hear him laugh," said the nice one, who was a pretty brunette. "This morning he was unresponsive."

On the way down they saw Sam's parents coming up.

Bumblebee stopped and stared at them feeling responsible for the accident all over again. "I'm sorry" he said.

Judy Witwicky came over to them carrying flowers. She had picked her own roses for Sam from the new bushes the government had replaced hers with and wrapped them in brown paper.

"Hi Miles, how are you? It's Bumblebee isn't it, I've seen you before."

"Yes."

"We thought the car was stolen or something. I'm glad to see you.

"YOU thought the car was stolen" said Ron, "I heard Sam saying something about repairs at the garage."

"You can't help needing repairs."

"I often come to walk the dogs with Sam Sunday mornings. I just didn't see the car coming out of the junction so fast. It was an accident." said Miles.

"It would've helped if you'd got the other car's number."

"I don't think it would." said Bumblebee in an angry set voice. "But I can get - I can help you get compensation."

"Oh. That would be good, but at the moment all we're interested in is Sam." said Ron.

"Oh, so're we" said Miles, "Only I have to get the dogs. I paid the vet's bill over the phone with my Junior Savers' Card."

"Mojo knows you, he'll come to you" said Judy. "The doctors said we might take him home."

"Hang on a minute- Am I to understand you know who did this?" said Ron.

"Not know personally, but I definitely have met him." said Bumblebee.

"And he is an enemy of the country?"

"Not just this country, of all of us."

"Like that one they buried at sea?"

"Yes, but you did not hear it from me."

"Then neither you or Miles was to blame. We know about the war. But why are they always after Sam? He wasn't doing anything, only walking the dogs."

"They wouldn't need that excuse, Mr Witwicky. Sam did something very special at Mission City, for which some hate him and some love and admire him very much. You couldn't take that away from him any more than you could take the equivalent from any soldier on the battlefield. And it's part of the reason I'm with him." said Bee.

"The important thing is your friendship." said Ron.

"How is Sam?" said Judy.

"He's sitting up, seems quite lively, we had a bit of a laugh," said Miles.

"He seems O.K., apart from being hurt." said Bumblebee. This sounded far more realistic to Judy.

"Will you be back tonight?"

"Yes. I will be bringing Mojo back."

"I'll come too, if Sam's coming home." said Miles. "That is, if I can."

"Of course. Just come and knock, I'll have donuts and coffee ready."

"Now if you two want to go looking for Mikaela and Sam wants to come too, you will bring him back to us won't you?" said Judy Witwicky seriously.

This wasn't something he could just say "Yes, I'll try," to.

They were both looking at him.

"Yes, I will." Said Bumblebee. Something inside him had said _'Or die trying.'_ "I'll stay with him."

He had been given a second chance.

"You can trust us," Miles said. "I've been Sam's friend a long time. We're good buddies."

"That's what I like to hear." Ron said clapping him on the shoulder. "We'll see you later then."

"You can have something to eat if you want," said Judy, "It'll only be T.V. dinners, mind, but it'll be something."

"That's O.K., That'll be fine," Miles said, and then he thought of Sam.

"Er, Mrs Witwicky, have you got some drinking straws? And a blender?"

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Meanwhile Mikaela arrived at the Decepticon base. Her captor put wrist restraints on her wrists after putting them behind her back- like handcuffs, but not the same, they worked electronically - and put her in front of him.

It was not like the Autobot base -it was cold and stank in places, and she could hear arguments breaking out all the time. She was pushed along a slightly warmer corridor to a door marked with the usual pointy symbol and a crossed hammer and wrench, over a car and a plane.

So they did have a repair bay, if not a Med-bay. Perhaps if she could show she was useful it would help? Not that she wanted to be useful to them, but it might mean she'd get to see Sam again.

"I can do that," she said to Dropkick, "repairs that is."

"That is not the reason I've brought you here fleshling." Said Dropkick. "Our leader is beyond that door and I want to see what he or any of the others might want with you." And he gave an evil laugh.

The effect was spoiled by the voices she could hear through the door. It was what they said that was funny. They could have come from almost any doctor's surgery in the country.

"Now hold still, this won't hurt a bit."

"You said that last time, Dr Syn. Ow! Be careful!"

"I have to get them all out. You _want_ them all out, don't you?"

"Yes, just hurry up about it!"

"It can't be rushed, it'll hurt more."

"Ow! Ow that's cold! Watch where you're putting that probe! And those tweezers! "

"Well if you will fly low over the Autobot base _" "Silence! Must you question my actions? Snivelling Autobots!"

"They've jumped you, brought you down, put something in your internal systems…."

Mikaela put her chin on her chest to stop herself laughing, she'd heard this conversation from the other end, when she'd helped Ratchet fix up the Twins in Ratchet's Medbay.

"At least Optimus would only jump on you, like he did on Megatron."

"Silence! Don't mention that name- either of them! I am your leader now! And I won't stand for any insubordination!" There was a slithery crashing noise, obviously the patient's anger, and possibly movement had made it difficult for the doctor to help.

"Oops, no, sorry Lord Starscream."

A slight giggle escaped Mikaela as the noise got louder. She couldn't help it, it was like seeing someone in a difficult situation with the teacher at school almost. But her captor noticed.

"Don't laugh! I'm taking you to him! And he doesn't sound in a very good mood!"

The laughter died in her throat, and big tears came to her eyes. Would she ever see the Twins, Ratchet, Bumblebee, or more particularly, Sam, again?


	3. Chapter 3

On the Value of Pets.

Chapter 3-Sunday Night to Monday morning.

Mikaela put her hands over her face so he would not see her crying. Her captor was not interested in her tears however. The doors swished open and he pushed her in.

"Excuse me, I found this fleshling in the river, does anyone want it?"

"Unicron-spawned son of a glitch! How dare you interfere!"

The Med-bay, definitely. A large brown robot, with red optics, naturally, was bending over a huge one on a table who was definitely a flier, she could see his wings on his shoulders. He turned his head and spoke to her."Ha! You were there at Mission City, weren't you? One of the oness that cossht us the AllSpark! You could be a useful bargaining chip."

"Please, I can clean exhausts, I can file, I can weld-" She did not want anyone put under an obligation for her, especially Sam.

"That would be good," said the Medic with a smile "are you any good with a wire brush? I might be able to stop using this probe and these tweezers then!"

"Yes, I can do that." She 'd had to brush rust off before." With your permission, Lord Starscream," said the Doctor

"Go on, then."

The medic handed her a human sized wire brush. So they had tools too, stolen probably like the fuel. She went up the exhaust pipe and started brushing the debris, earth, and char-grime out.

"And be careful, or I might just forget you're up there and put my engines on!"

"No!" she moaned and flattened herself against the side "I will!"

'Maybe I could take up some of Megatron's ideas to please his supporters,' thought Starscream, 'the idea of a pet human makes sense, at least you know where they are, and the sensation of being brushed clean is very satisfying, she is warm, not slimy' - Mikaela had dried off by now- 'Hm, what was it Megatron had said in one of the rare data bursts of that last battle when he asked-

"What was it like, Lord Megatron, when the ice was melting and you felt the humans crawling inside you?"

"Disgusting! But it tickled - and they could get places you normally could not reach," (he had seemed faintly appreciative of it, charged perhaps by their ministrations) "Of course, they also did things I did NOT like!" his rage had come back, and they had returned to the battle -And that was why Starscream was taking revenge. And if he could make a pet of one of these AllSpark stealers he would have done something Megatron did not manage to do!

Ah! it felt better to be brushed out.

Mikaela was careful. She knew the threat was not an idle one.

"All right, I will allow you to be my pet," he said when she came back and returned the brush, "you can do things like this every day.

I will not allow you in my room though. You can stay here. With Dr Syn. He'll look after you." He laughed, not totally cruelly, but lewdly.

"Thanks," she said, pretending not to notice, "Can I use the bathroom?"

"Drains and sluice room are beyond that door," Dr Syn pointed out, "we have no human conveniences. Well, possibly one."

She used it and washed her hands, and face briefly with a hose as it was a bit grimy, and changed into a pair of overalls she found there.

When she came back the larger Decepticon and her captor had left the room, only the doctor was there.

"Keep your nose clean and do what they say, and you can sleep in here on my recharging pallet, the wires aren't dangerous, it's safest and warmest for you."

"Thanks. Why do you do this?"

"I 'm a craftsmech, and I came into the Decepticons as the only way I could practise my trade, and branch out into treating fliers. I don't just patch'em up, and send them back into battle unless I have to, I take a pride in my work, they only go back if they're fit to fight or fly, and they can take it. If you're interested, when I transform I'm a Citroën Synergie MPV. Just so you'll recognise me if you go into battle in town with us . The other medic is Headfixer, he's in Frenzy's line of work, processor programming, hacking, code, psychiatry. His alt's a Toyota Celica, but we both have guns.'

"I wouldn't expect anything less of a Decepticon."

She surprised herself by saying the name with less hatred than usual. Maybe it was because she was at their base, and this was the first time she'd been treated almost nicely by one.

"There's clean water in the sluice room, we get human clothes off washing lines the 'cons steal for fun, and we get human food in in case we can't get fuel, we can get energy from almost anything. Not that we like everything, especially not slimy things." He got her some bread, cheese, fruit and candy bars. There was also a corncob, but she explained that would need cooking.

"No problem," he said warming it up with his micro laser. He even found some butter, hard in a stick but it worked.

"I eat them without that but I know that's how humans like it," he said. "We raided a refrigerated truck and the stuff had to be put in my cold store, a lot of it's stuff that's too slimy for the rest of them.

Do you like ice cream?"

"Yes."

He got out a kilo tub from the cold store

"I can't eat all that!"

"Try some-" He gave her a spoon and she did "and I'll put the rest back. "Can you use one of these?" He showed her a can opener.

"Yes."

"We need cans opening. As long as you open one for me, you can have one."

She opened him a can of corned beef- it seemed least slimy - and she ate one of spinach.

Then they shared some Hershey bars, where he carefully cut the paper away with his micro laser.

"I'll show you how to file claws on digits and pedes tomorrow," he said, "how much robot work have you done?

"I can repair fuel lines and coolant lines if I have to, Ratchet was a bit reluctant to teach me everything but he did for a lot, but usually I do welding, washing, waxing, servicing and panel beating."

"You're a little treasure, aren't you, they must be sad to lose you."

She put her head in her hands, thinking of them all. "Yes. Yes." She was not going to cry.

"Now, no tears in my Med-bay, I'll get you some tissue." He got her a toilet roll, a pillow, a towel, a sheet and a blanket. "There's even spare clothes, we steal to annoy people sometimes. Go through to the sleeping room and get some recharge time. You can cry on your own pillow all you like, just not on mine. Don't worry though, I recognise humans have secretions, and I won't blame you for accidents, feelings or negative thoughts- it makes sense to respect all the different alien life in my Med-bay, and it's scientifically logical. I'm looking after you for Starscream and if I get called out, you might get called out too: otherwise Headfixer'll look after you, one of us is always on duty, and I'll see you tomorrow. A red light is always left on in the Med bay, so you can see your way to the sluice room."

"Just one more thing before we recharge," she called "Is there anything I shouldn't say?"

"This room is soundproofed, I've had it made so, and the sleeping room, but as long as you don' t show any particular favour to Megatron…"

"That big lunk who attacked Jazz, and threatened Sam, and hit Optimus and everyone! That evil, cruel, ugly great monster, I wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole! Oh sorry!"

"Starscream would approve, but don't let everyone hear you say so, I have a 10 foot probe here," said the doctor, understandng but horrified. "You can learn to use it as they don't like organic things on their insides. Megatron was not always like that, I'm sorry I did not usually serve near him. The war started as a freedom fight against injustice, then he took over, then took off after the Allspark -some day we'll have to have a proper talk about it, if you'll be happy to listen."

"I will," she said, going to retire and taking her bed things with her.

There was a possibility she could escape by swimming out through

the drains in the sluice room, there was a rusty grill on one, and perhaps she could get into the normal sewage system and back to the Autobots and Sam. She crept out while the doctor was recharging and the other one seemed not to notice, as did a large purple-blue con who was lubricating as she'd seen Bumblebee do in the sluice room. Mikaela crept past him to the toilet and when she came out he'd gone. She had seen pictures of sewers and could stand wading in any amount of gunge, it would be like being washed down in bath water she thought, and she was a reasonably good swimmer, if she didn't make it she could come back: she washed herself all over, the sluice room had hot water too and some of the anti-yucky oily-hands gunk they had at her Dad's garage: she could go back to bed and no-one would be any the wiser.

At least that was the theory. There was a rusty grid on the drain and she lifted it and went down, swimming, but water and oil, particularly waste oil, is very hard to swim through. It came over her head soon and the pipe narrowed with another grid that was harder to move. What could she do now? Could she get back in time? There was a booming in her head, a tightness in her chest and someone seemed to be calling her name on a radio….

OOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Bumblebee called Ratchet and Optimus in a three-way call that night.

"Have we got a wheelchair at the base, Ratchet?"

"Yes, I think the army left us one, why?"

"Sam wants to come in with me."

"Already? I thought he was just home."

"Yes, but there isn't a lot he can do beyond just surviving, which is embarrassing for him because he needs help for everything, where- as before he could do it all alone-going to the bathroom, eating drinking, moving. Apart from that though, he can't play games with Miles, he needs two hands, he can just type on a computer, which he likes, but needs it a lot for communicating, and I'm afraid I told him about the code-"

"Bumblebee!" said Optimus angrily.

"He's ok," said Ratchet in a conciliating voice, "I understand why."

"So do I," said Optimus regretfully, "I only sought to protect him. He wants to help find Mikaela, and who are we to stop him? Bumblebee, you're fine. I trust your judgement."

"When you're communicating all the time you run out of things to say and I had to tell him we were doing _something _about finding Mikaela. There might be something he can do. He's very frustrated and stressed. Is it all right if we bring him in tomorrow?"

"If that's all right with his parents and his school," said Optimus.

"I'm just about to talk to them, but I think they'll agree. He'll be off school for at least a week, Mrs Witwicky says."

"And what do you mean by "we?" asked Ratchet.

"Miles wants to come, he helps Sam, it's easier than just with me," said Bumblebee.

"Will you be bringing the pets?" said Ratchet grouchily, cycling air through his vents.

"Possibly, they won't get properly walked and fed and washed if we don't as the parents work, but they won't be any trouble really…"

"Ok, I guess we'll cope." said Ratchet, reconciling himself to a disrupted Med-bay for a bit.

"And when we went to collect the dogs Mason slobbered all over Miles and me and Mojo was given over in a little vet's carrying case and he was worrying a little turquoise earring that looked like Mikaela's! He must've picked it up when he got out at the accident! It's a clue! We at least have a clue!" said Bumblee excitedly.


End file.
